Skill 9
Distinguish between Facts and Opinions

A very important skill for critical reading is the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, and between fact and fiction. You’ve read about Elvis sightings and about persons who say they have spoken with visitors from other galaxies. You’ve read people’s opinions on which weight loss technique you should follow. Stories and articles like these may be written as if they were absolutely true and scientifically proven. But that doesn’t mean that they are facts.

You need to be smart about what you are reading. You need to distinguish between opinions (no matter how convincingly stated) and facts. For example, “bananas cost 79 cents per pound at the local supermarket” is a fact. But “bananas taste good” is an opinion because not everyone might agree with that idea. Another example is “Avatar was the best movie ever.” You may believe this to be true, but other people might think another movie was much better. It’s all a matter of opinion.

Here are some statements.

Determine if each one are is a fact or an opinion by checking the box.

Answers:

Statement 1: Opinion

Statement 2: Fact

Statement 3: Opinion

Statement 4: Opinion

Statement 5: Fact

Statement 6: Fact (based on polls)

Statement 7: Opinion

Statement 8: Fact

Statement 9: Fact

Statement 10: Opinion

Statement 11: Opinion

Statement 12: Fact

Test Yourself!

Identify the sentences that are fact and those that are opinion in the following paragraph. Write the numbers of the sentences on the lines below

Family history research is a fascinating pastime. In some cultures, family members can trace their lineage back more than a thousand years! Research has shown that throughout the last decade, widespread use of technology and the Internet have fueled significant advancements in the field of genealogy making it more popular now than ever before. I think the best place to start to track your family history is to view the records of Ellis Island.

Identify the sentences that are fact and those that are opinion in the following paragraph. Write the numbers of the sentences on the lines below.

The World War II Navajo Code Talkers are perhaps the best-recognized American Indian military figures. About 400 Navajo Indians served with the U.S. Marines, mostly in the Pacific theater, transmitting secret tactical messages over military telephone or radio communications networks using codes built on their native language. The National Museum of the American Indian points out that the Code Talkers had to memorize 17 pages of code as part of their training. It was the only battlefield code never broken by the enemy. Historians who have studied the event state unequivocally that were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.

Identify the sentences that are fact and those that are opinion in the following paragraph. Write the numbers of the sentences on the lines below.

Texting while driving, like talking on cell phones while driving, should be banned by federal law. There is heightened concern about the risks of texting while driving, because texting combines three types of distraction—visual, taking the eyes off the road; manual, taking the hands off the wheel; and cognitive, taking the mind off the road. Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. Research also shows that the most frequent offenders are the youngest and least-experienced drivers, men and women under 20 years of age.